Skip to main content
Archive (2003-2004)

BYU student an embarrassment on national TV

I graduated from BYU last December and I now work for a law firm in Washington, DC. I love BYU and I root for our Cougars all the way from the East Coast. Let me tell you, though, that last night I was a little embarrassed to be a BYU alumnus. On Jay Leno's Tonight Show, he ran a segment called 'Jay Walking' where he interviewed random people on the street and asked them basic questions, this time about US history. I cringed

when I saw that his college-aged interviewee was

wearing a BYU sweatshirt. He asked the young woman who discovered electricity. She thought for a while and responded, 'Alexander Graham Bell.' I guess she couldn't hear me yelling, 'Benjamin Franklin!' at the TV. Now, I realize that this girl was on the spot and probably a little nervous to be on TV, but come on! Doesn't everyone take American Heritage? Isn't BYU a

few steps back from becoming the Harvard of the West? Let's let our light and common sense shine, especially on national TV.

Christian Markanich

Herndon, VA